The weekend of October 21-22 marks Union County’s “Four Centuries in a Weekend” event. Each year, Union County celebrates its important places in history by featuring many historic sites throughout the County.The historic Hetfield House will be open for visitors on Saturday, October 21 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday, October 22 from 12 p.m. – 5 p.m.
During Saturday and Sunday, back by popular demand, there will be a miniature simulation of a Revolutionary War Battle. This year, The Battle of Monmouth will be reenacted. Mountainside’s own John Sileo, a member of the Tri-State Historical Education Simulations, Inc., will be present to engage in a lively discussion on the battle, fought nearby on June 28, 1778 in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The discussions will be augmented by a diorama of the military actions with hundreds of hand-painted soldiers.
In addition, the Mountainside Restoration Committee will have on display during the weekend a collection of Mountainside Pottery. The collection was acquired from former Mountainside residents Brent and Roberta Barnes. The Mountainside Pottery Company was in business at 1140 Hwy. 22 in Mountainside from 1929-1940. The company was owned by John Kovacs, from Hungary, who was affiliated with Rutgers University. Earlier Mountainside Pottery works were simple white utilitarian pieces while later works are more colorful and decorative.
The Mountainside Historic Committee will also be displaying its new acquisition of a very special copper coin – a 1797 NJ-Maris 6-D Copper Coin. The coin is thought to have been struck by a Hetfield relative who worked at a mint once located in Rahway.
Tours of the Hetfield House will be available throughout the weekend. The open house and activities are free to visitors and fans of Union County history. The exterior of the Hetfield House will be adorned by over a dozen scarecrows representing figures in history. These scarecrows are created by Mountainside Fifth Grade students from Deerfield School who will be visiting the Hetfield House on a field trip the week prior to Four Centuries Weekend.
This year, the Hetfield House will be participating in Union County’s History Trading Card program. Be sure to pick up a card from the Hetfield House and add it to your collection of cards from other Union County sites. Each card depicts a person, place or event in Union County history.
The Deacon Andrew Hetfield House is located at Constitution Plaza (Watchung Ave., off Birch Hill Rd.) adjacent to the Mountainside Library. The Mountainside Restoration Committee is a committee of volunteers whose purpose is to restore and maintain the Deacon Andrew Hetfield House and Levi Cory House and collect and save historic information and items from destruction. For further details, please call (908)789-9420 or go to www.mountainsidehistory.org
(above) John Sileo will present a Revolutionary War Battle reenactment, in a miniature diorama, during the Four Centuries in a Weekend Open House at the Hetfield House.
(above) Many examples of Mountainside Pottery, created by a Mountainside company from 1929-1940, will be on display at the Hetfield House during the Four Centuries in a Weekend Open House.
